Tuesday, January 11

1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.

2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,

3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.

4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.

5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.

6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.

7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.

8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.

9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

15But the righteous live forever, And their reward is with the Lord; And their care is by the Most High.

16Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord, Because He will shelter them with His right hand And protect them with His arm.

17He will take His zeal as His full armor And will turn His creation into weapons against His enemies.

18He will wear righteousness as a breastplate And put on impartial judgment as a helmet.

19He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield

20And sharpen His relentless wrath for a sword; And creation will fight with Him against the senseless.

21Well-aimed flashes of lightning will strike And leap to their object as from a well-drawn bow of clouds;

22And hailstones full of anger will be hurled As from an engine of war. The water of the sea will be vexed with them, And the rivers will wash over them severely.

23A powerful wind will oppose them, And like a storm it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste all the earth, And wrongdoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

1Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

2Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.

3For power was given to you from the Lord, And your lordship from the Most High, Who will make a careful search of your works And examine closely your plans.

7But though a righteous man may die before his time, He shall be at rest.

8For old age is not honored for its length of existence, Nor measured by its number of years;

9But discernment is gray hair for mankind, And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

10There was once a man pleasing to God and loved by Him, And while living among sinners he was taken up.

11He was caught up lest evil change his understanding Or deceit deceive his soul.

12For envy arising from lack of judgment obscures what is good, And a whirling of desire undermines an innocent heart.

13He was made perfect, For in a short time he fulfilled long years,

14For his soul was pleasing to the Lord; Therefore, He took him early from the midst of evil. Yet peoples saw this but did not understand, Nor take such a thing to heart,

15That the Lord's grace and mercy are with His elect And that He watches over His holy ones.

17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

18as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

19And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

20'Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.

22Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

8the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

9It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—

10concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

11But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

12Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

13For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,

14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

15And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

16For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

17For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.

18Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood.

19For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,

20saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.'

21Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.

22And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

23Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—

10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

12So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak,

14knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

15For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

22Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

23So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

24And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.'

25Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

26Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.'

27All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'